Watching The Paint DryShop Fox W1812 - Update
I’ve been able to use the Shop Fox W1812 for a few custom molding runs and it worked great - until it didn’t.
The molder has performed very well for normal planing and custom molding. However, a few boards into my third molding project, I experienced several zaps and a light show from within the cabinet. It turns out the cord that supplies power to the control panel had found its way over to the belt and wheel that turn the cutterhead. Once the metal wheel made contact with the power running through the cable…⚡⚡⚡! I think I’m glad I wasn’t touching the machine at the time.
Because I’ve only had my machine since December and Shop Fox offers a two-year warranty, they quickly sent me a replacement cord free of charge. Reconnecting the cable inside the control panel box was a simple matter of loosening and retightening some screws on the switches and buttons, but it’s a good idea to take a picture before disconnecting everything.
The red wire on the original cable is spliced so it can easily daisy-chain between two of the controls. The new cable didn’t include the splice, but I was able to cut off the short segment from the old cable and use it to connect the controls as it had done before.
I did pickup a cable fastener to make sure the power cord didn’t find its way back near the motor. If you have a Shop Fox W1812, I’d suggest you proactively make sure this cord is secure.
Because I was having the power cord replaced under warranty, I also requested a replacement T-nut that’s used to secure the guide rails. One of the nuts had broken apart during tightening, which I’m told shouldn’t happen.
Shorting out the power against the motor is a bit jarring, and I was concerned my machine was going to be completely dead. Fortunately, everything is back up and running smoothly and I was able to finish my molding project.
I received my replacement parts in about a week, which is exactly what I had been told to expect. Thanks to Bibb Tool & Cutter for handling the warranty process, and thanks to Shop Fox for quickly sending out the replacement parts.